Desmond Armstrong, formerly general manager of the Nashville Metros soccer team, coaches an FC Nashville youth team at Ted Rhodes Park. The Metros, founded in 1989, did not field a team this year.

Written by

John Glennon
| The Tennessean

The end of the longest continuously owned franchise in the United Soccer League occurred quietly this summer when the Nashville Metros failed to field a team for the first time since the club was founded in 1989.

Majority owner Martin Maciel made the decision to pull the plug toward the end of last year, with rising travel costs and organizational bickering outweighing the fact that the Metros had put together their best record in a decade in 2012.

Already there are indications a soccer rebirth may happen, possibly as soon as next year. ...